#RealPigFarming Student Social Forces

Posted on July 25, 2018

The 2018 class of the #RealPigFarming Student Socials Forces team has been announced. National Pork Board Communications Director Claire Masker is featured in this edition of Pork Pod with more details on this Pork Checkoff program.

Host

Don Wick

Guests

Claire Masker, Communications Director, National Pork Board

Length

03:13

Transcript

Don Wick:00:01 From the Pork Checkoff in Des Moines, Iowa, it’s Pork Pod! Pork Pod. a look at the hot topics in today’s pork industry. The Pork Checkoff is working for you through various forms of research, promotion, and consumer information projects. This Don Wick speaking on behalf of the Pork Checkoff. And today our guest is Claire Masker, Communications Director for the National Pork Board. And we’re here to talk about Real Pig Farming, Student Social Forces Team. Claire, tell me about this program.

Claire Masker:00:29 You know, this program is partnering with students who are earning a degree in agriculture from across the United States and allowing them to help tell the real pig farming story. So we have students that are interested and want to tell that story. So we’re going to bring them in for training and give them the tools that they can go out and do it. And at the end of the program then they’ll also receive a scholarship to go towards their tuition and fees at their university.

Don Wick:00:58 It looks like a pretty diverse group from all across the country.

Claire Masker:01:02 Yep. You know, that was one of our things is we know that pig farming just doesn’t happen in the Midwest and so we want to make sure that we represent everyone across the country and represent all types of farms as well.

Don Wick:01:15 Are you able to kind of build in their network and, and tell that story. How do you see that working?

Claire Masker:01:21 Yeah, you know, so I think we need to remember that in our social networks if you’re on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram or Snapchat, that a lot of the people that follow you on your friends list probably don’t have, you know, aren’t involved in agriculture or in pig farming and so we can become kind of those experts for those individuals. And that was kind of our goal with this program as well, is that I’m giving them the tools so that they can share with their network. You know, they don’t have to go out and be a superstar in social media. They could just share their story with the people in their social sphere.

Don Wick:01:55 How many years have you been doing this?

Claire Masker:01:58 This will be our fourth year for the, for the student program, so Real Pig Farming continues to grow and we continue to have more stories to share because people are excited, you know, are getting more and more excited about sharing their story about what really happens on farms today across the US.

Don Wick:02:15 So just be looking for that #realpigfarming.

Claire Masker:02:18 Yep. Just look for Real Pig Farming. We’re on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat and we have a blog @realpigfarming.com.

Don Wick:02:25 Just to update you, 12 members representing the 2018 class for Social Forces. And that class includes Abbie Greer of The Ohio State Agricultural Technical Institute, Caitlyn Wileman of Iowa State, Haley Fischer from Northwest Missouri State University, Janna Siegel from Lincoln Land Community College, Logan Fullerton at the University of Missouri, Mckenzie Wille from Oregon State University, Madeline Abner of Texas A & M, also from Texas A & M Meghan Clancy, Shelby Veum from Iowa State, Wade Hutchens from Illinois State and Whitney Whitaker from Kansas State University. Thanks to you for listening to this edition of Pork Pod. For more information on this topic or the Pork Checkoff itself, visit pork.org.